Pamela D. Williams, Author of A-Z Devotions for Writers

To start off, who is your favorite author and is your writing style similar to theirs?

My two favorite authors are Gladys Taber and Jan Karon. My writing style is similar to Taber’s and my life is similar to the one Karon writes about.

What’s your favorite part of a book?

The ending is always bittersweet for me—I love the resolution to conflict and the time to reflect but I miss the characters.

Who are your target readers?

For A to Z Devotions for Writers, my target audience is writers, of course. My other writing is mainly aimed at the average adult who is a Christian.

What are the major themes of your work?

God’s grace and His power to change us is the foremost theme of my work.

What is your writing process?

I usually jot down a few sentences that capture the gist of what I want to say. I pray about the direction to go with it. Then I flesh it out, followed by edit, edit, edit.

How do you get your ideas?

I really feel God plants them in my mind and heart and I just write them down.

How many hours do you write each day?

It varies. Some days I write nothing; other days I write for three or four hours straight. If I averaged it out, it would probably amount to about an hour a day, usually in the early morning.

Who inspired you?

One Christmas my mother gave me three books by Gladys Taber. I feel in love with her style, read ALL of her books, and decided I wanted to write like she did. However, I truly feel, writing is a call from God—He just happened to use Taber to get my attention.

Did you always want to write?

No, I always wanted to read; writing grew out of my love of reading.

How have your personal experiences affected your writing?

My personal experiences provide fodder for my writing.

Finally, do you have any tips for readers or advice for other writers trying to get published?

Pray, edit ruthlessly, and research the markets very thoroughly before submitting.

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If I was going to a Halloween party as a writer, Janet Evanovich would be my first choice. I love her Stephanie Plum novels and re-read all 18 over the summer. A cute, short red wig, a black motorcycle jacket and black Converse sneakers make an easy Janet ‘costume’.

Another option would be to dress as Stephanie Plum – the title character of her ‘Plum’ novels. To become Stephanie, I’d wear a brunette curly wig, a fitted t-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers. I’d complete the costume with a black shoulder bag filled with the essentials – hairspray, mascara, pepper spray and a stun-gun (with a dead battery). For the guys, Evanovich offers plenty of great characters to choose from – Joe Morelli – laid back cop; Ranger – sexy swat guy; Mooner –  stoned hippy; and don’t forget Sally Sweet – no words except Janet’s do Sally Sweet’s description justice

Another writer I adore, isn’t really a writer at all, she only played one on TV – Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote. Going to a party as Jessica Fletcher requires a classic trench coat, a silk scarf and an all-purpose pocketbook.

For this next idea, I’d use a plain white sheet, but not to make a ghost costume; I’d use it to make a blank sheet of paper.

Or instead of going as a blank sheet of paper, I could write my favorite excerpt from my novel on the sheet and go as my own manuscript.

A square cardboard box worn around my chest is ‘writer’s block’ -insert groan here

The simplest costume I came up with this year is ‘blogger‘. I’d wear whatever I wanted and just add my laptop bag.

And my final costume idea comes with the following disclaimer – I’ve never read this book! – 50 Shades of Grey. My costume for this book involves three shades of grey eye shadow, three shades of grey nail polish, grey hair extensions, grey layered clothing and a grey scarf. I’m sure this doesn’t do justice to what the book is actually about, but it’s a symbolic costume and what’s more writerly than symbolism?

“What if we treated our Bible like our cell phone? What if we never left home without it?”

I thought of another question – what if our children saw us treating the Bible like we do our cell phones?

At 4 my daughter is too young to be reading the Bible, but she’s not too young to develop a connection with the Bible. Here are some ways I’m using to make that important connection:

• I found that grouping my Bibles together and keeping them in a special place intrigues my daughter. Having Bibles of different sizes and colors creates curiosity and makes them fun to explore.
• At this young age, the best way I can encourage Monkey’s interest in the Bible is to let her see me reading and enjoying the Bible on a regular basis, which is more incentive to read it often.
• When I’m reading my Bible, Monkey often gets out her ‘Beginner’ Bible. Then together we read a story from her Bible aloud.
• After we read out loud from her Bible, I give her some time to look through her Bible alone while I read from my Bible alone.
• This time reading alone doesn’t usually last too long since Monkey is curious about what I’m reading, and asks for me to read to her from my Bible. I like to read a story to her from my Bible and then read the same story again from her Bible.

Daddy’s Girl

My daddy hung the moon, at least in my eyes. I love both my parents, but can’t deny a special fondness for my father.

Growing up, there was nothing my dad wouldn’t do for me or give to me, but it wasn’t until I was leaving for college that I remember him speaking the words, “I love you.” Oh, I knew without question my entire life that he loved me; he just wasn’t the type of guy to say it all the time. If I said those three little words to him, he grunted. To this day, he still grunts in response to words of affection, although he is more likely to return the sentiment in words now than when I was a child.

To avoid making my dad uncomfortable, I decided several years ago to share all my really mushy feelings and thoughts in an annual Father’s Day letter. It’s an almost perfect form of communication. Through my gift of writing, I get to tell my dad how much he means to me without worrying about his reaction.

Therein lies my one and only regret –that I never see or hear his reaction to what I’ve written.

So what are the questions I want to ask my father?

• “How did my father’s day letters make you feel, Daddy?”
• “Did they tell you how much I love you?”
• “Did they touch your heart?”
• Do you still have each letter?”

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Are you ready for the challenge? Visit 1st Writes today!

“Can we name my baby sister ‘Mermaid’?” Monkey asked. 

“I don’t think so. Besides, we don’t know if it’s going to be a baby sister or a baby brother. God decides,” I answered.

“God told my heart it was going to be a baby sister,” she told me with absolute conviction.

“And He said it’s alright to name her ‘Mermaid’?” I was skeptical.

“Yes. He told my heart,” she affirmed.

Well, color me happily surprised. Reading a Bible verse every night and saying our prayers together really seems to be affecting my little angel (perhaps not as much as the movie ‘The Little Mermaid’ has affected her, but close enough).
It was at least a month ago when I explained that God always listens to our prayers and He speaks to our hearts. I haven’t really talked about it since, but on many nights we have read this short devotion from Really Woolly Bedtime Prayers by Bonnie Rickner Jensen:

I praise the Lord because he guides me. Even at night, I feel his leading. (Psalm 16:7)

[God] goes ahead of you,

To guide you with His love.

He helps you when you ask Him to,

With wisdom from above.

And when you say your prayers at night

He’s listening –it’s true!

He whispers to your little heart,

I am taking care of you.

~ (RWBP)